Type-writer for the blind.



J. G. HEATER. TYPE WRITER FOR THE BLIND. APPLICATION FILED MAE. 2a, 1910.

Patented Jan. 3, 1911.

2 SHBETS-SHEET 1.

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TYPE WRITER FOR THE BLIND. rum-non IILED mums. 1910;

,2 SHEETS-$KEET 2.

I' "5106'. IVE/7 F m/m ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 3, 19 11.

' ED ESTATEsPATENT OFFICE;

.JOIEN'GALVrIv HEATER, or mime; 1LnINor s ,-Assie1vonprone-Hetero i'en'rmm 3 cowme, or aoLIn'r, ILInNoIs.

rarer-warren riparian- 1 181).

To all it concern: I Be it known that I, JOHN CALVIN HEATER,

-. a citizen of the United States, and a resident :of Joilet, in the county of Willand State of Illinois, have made certain new and use- 1 fill Improvements in Type-Writers for the Blind, of which the following is a specifica= tion.

My inventionis' an improvement ,in type- -writ ers, and consists in certain novel constructlons, and comblnatlons of parts hereh i inafter described and claimed.

. :a typewriter especially desi ned for the use of the'blind, and -wherein t e printed mat- The object of' the {invention 'is' to provide .ter willbe in'the Braille characters and will read in the usual direction.

Referring to the drawings forming a part ,fhereof, Figure 1 is a plan view of the improvement, Fig.x2 is a section on the line 29-2 of Fig.- 1, Fig. 3 i a longitudinal section, Fig. 4 is a rear view, Fig. 5 is a partial transverse section, and Fig. 6 is an end view of the carriage. 4 i As is known the characters of the Braille.

alphabet, the numerals, and the punctuation marks are formed by difierent arrangements of six points, and the writingis read by passing the fingers over the oints. The ordinary method of writing is y means of ..a folding ruler, composed of two sections,

In use, the sheet of paper is placed be- 'tween the sections of the ruler, and the 'stylus' is forced against the paper throughv the openings,'from right to left, 'eachcharacte'r being formed by the, proper grouping of the points. When completed the paper 15 reversed, and the writing may be read by assing the fingers over the embossed points roin leftto right. The printing however, that is, the formation of the characters must be from right to left, the reverse of the natural method, which isfrom left to right,

and the many disadvantages of the method will be obvious. i

=The embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing which is designed to overcome the difliculty, consists of a base '1, of wood or other suitable material, having-at Specification; ;"I.ettei$-1at'ent. Application filed March 28, 1910. Serial No. 551,858.

nism is mounted, A bar 2is arranged ins d ef the flange 2 and in spaced relation and substantially parallel therewith, and a third bar 2 is arranfied in thespace between I ange 2, the-saidbar 2 belng slidab le and acting as the carriage.

the bar 2 and the A pair of brackets 4 and 4 is secured to I the top of the bar 2", one near each end, the bracket 4 being near the right end of the case, and the bracket at the left end, andeach'bracket isprovided with a plurality of openings or hearings, in which are 'journaled m upper and lowerrollers 15 and 6, the ,said

rollers having trunnions 10 engaging the bearings. The lower roller 6: is providedwith a reduced portion 7 adjacent to the,

bracket 1*, and the trunnion 10.0f the upper roller is extended beyond the said bracket, and provided with a corrugated or knurled knob or head 8. The upperbearing each side edge an upwardly extending .fiange 2 and 2 which are connected by .a top plate 3, a species of case being thu formed, in which a'portion of the'niecha 11 of the bracket 4* for the trunnion of the upper roller is elongated vertically intheform of a slot, and a spring-12, consisting of a plurality of leaves is securedIat one end- 'to the top of the case by a screw'13, and theother endhooks over the upper roller adja'-' cent to the bracket 4*. A brace 14 engages the spring at approximately its center and is secured to the bracket 4 by a screw 15.

Each roller 5 and 6 is' provided near-its ends with annular strips; or bands'16 of material having a high coeflicient' ofifriction,, and the sheet 17 pf-paper or other material to be impressed vpasses between :the

rollers. The upper roller may be: lifted slightly to permlt the insertion of the sheet,

and the sheet may be moved by turning the rollers, both operations being performed with the knob 8. The characters are in;- pressed on the sheet, by means of six levers 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 and 18, the levers 'being arranged in pairs, the members of each" air being pivoted on acommonsup'poi'tu ach support consists of abase 19, secured to the under face of the top in any suitable manher, and having three depending lugs :20,

The lugs are provided with registeringtransverse openlngs, and the "levels with similar openlngs and are arranged between the lugs and a pin 21passes tlirough the openings, the opposite end of the pin from the head having a transverse opening,

the pin or rod is moved upwardly, and the extremity thereof is shaped to form the point on the sheet. The opposite ends of the levers extend beyond the top, which as shown in Fig. 1 is of lesser length than the base. One member of each pair of levers is of greater length than the other member, and the front end of each is provided with a lateral flange 27 forming a key. Owing tothe arrangement of the bars just described, thekeys are arranged in two transverse rows of three each, one row just beyond the edge of the top and the other row just beyond the edge of the base at the right of the case. z

The rods or pins are so arranged with respect to each other in the block that when a key is operated, the pin will make an impression at the correct relative point. lVhen all of the keys are depressed at once, six

- points are made on the paper, appearing in two vertical rows of three each or three horizont'al rows of two each, and the arrange ment of the keys corresponds to the arrange ment of the points, as will be evident from an inspection of Fig. 3.

,To correctly place the points of the pins or rods, some of them are necessarily offset as willbe evident from an inspection 0 Fig. 3. In forming for instance, the first character at'the left of Fig. l, the upper left, middle left, middle right, and lower: left keys are depressed. Thus the selection of the proper keys offers no difficulty.

Tomake a clear impression, some counterpressure is necessary, and for this purpose, a block 34 is arranged above the block 24, having in its lower face, recesses 35 registering with the points of the pins or rods and receiving them when they are moved upwardly. The block is pivoted to the end of an arm 36, which overhangs the top of the case longitudinally, the opposite end of the arm being secured to a bracket plate 37 which engages the under face and edge of the to The lower face of the block is spaced su ciently' above the upper face of the block 24, to permit the free movement of the paper. A bar 38 is arranged transversely of the under face of the top, being secured thereto by screws 39, and a plurality of leaf springs 40 each have one end inserted beneath the bar, are held fixed against the under face of the top. The free ends of the springs pass through stirrups 41 on the levers 18, 18 etc, the springs acting normally toretain the pins or rods in on its under face with a recess 34, in Which is pivoted a pawl 35, which engages the teeth of the ratchet bar, and the pawl is operated by means of a slide 42 on the top, having an angular portion 43 passing through a slot inthe top, and provided with a return portion 44, which when the slide moves to the left engages and lifts the pawl out of contact with the teeth. The free end of the return portion is inclined downwardly as shown at 45, and the slide is operated by a finger piece or trigger 46, pivoted to the end of the slide at 47, and moving in a bearing 48 in the top. \Vhen the pawl is lifted the carriage may be returned to the right, and it is moved to the left in a stepwise manner by the following mechanism. A lever 49 is pivoted by its center to the base by a screw 50, and the rear end of the lever engages an opening 51, in the ratchet bar. The front end provided with a key 52, and the lever is normally retained in the full line position of Fig. 3, by the s ring 53, connected with the lever at one en and with a screw 54 on the base at the other end. When the bar is swung to the right, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, the ratchet bar is moved to the left, and since the pawl is in engagement with the bar, the carriage is also moved. A full movement of the lever moves the carriage a single space, as between characters, while two movements is required'for a space between words. A guide bar 56 is arranged transversely of the top near the freeendsof the key levers, being secured to the under face of the top by screws 57 and the bar is provided with a plurality of depending lugs 58, each engaging the sides of a lever... .When the carriage is at the end of its movement to the left,

the angular portion 33 ofitheihar29 engages :1 lug 60 on the bar 2", and .stopsithe carriage,

after which it is returned bythe finger piece 46. The lever 49 maybe locked in the dotted line position by a catch 61 if desired.

1 claim:

1. A typewriter, comprising ancase, a car-f riage movable longitudinally of the case, means for moving the carriage, pair of superposed rolers ]ournaled on the carriage longitudinally of the case, a block set in the top of the case adjacent to the rollers and at the left end of the case, said block having a plurality of vertical openings, pins JHOWIblG through the openings, keys at the right end of the table for moving said pins, said pins and keys being arranged in two transverse rows, and the position of .each

' key with respect to. the other keys corretop of the case adjacent to the rollers and at the left endof the case, said block having a plurality of vertical openings, pins movable through the openings, keys at the right end of the table for moving said pins,

said pins and keys being arranged in two ,25 key with res transverse rows, and the position of each ect to the other keys correspondingto t e position of the pin opera-ted thereby with respect to the other pins, means a for normally retaining the pins depressed, and means for making counter-pressure against the pins.

3. A typewriter, comprising a case, a carbetween riage movable longitudinally of the case means for moving the carriage, a pair 0 superposed rollers journaled on the carriage longitudinally of the case, a plurality of pins movable vertically through the top of the case atthe left end thereof, said pins being arranged in regular order, keys at the right end of the case for operating the pins, and means for normally retaining the pins depressed,- the position of each key 1 with relation to the other keys corresponding to the position of the pin operated thereby with respect to the other pins.

4. A typewriter compris nga case, a 111- 'ralit y of vertical movable lus at the eft endv of the case, said pins being arranged in regular order, a key at the right of the easel-[for operating each pin, means for norm'allyretaining the pins dep ressed,means for making counter-pressure against the pins, means for supporting a sheet of paper the pins and the said means for making counter-pressure, means in connection with the supporting means for moving the' paper transversely 'to the case, and means or moving the supporting means intermittently from the keys toward the pins.

JOHN CALVIN HEATER-.- Witnesses; i I I An'rnun QB. COWING, ALVITN'A M. VoLz, 

